Automobile mirror swiveling device

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a swiveling device ( 11 ) of the support panel ( 12 ) of an exterior automobile mirror that can be adjusted by means of a motor. Said device functions in a stable manner. The panel ( 12 ) is fixed on a housing ( 13 ) in such a way that it can swivel, by means of four threaded rods ( 18—18.18′—18 ′). Said housing is to be mounted in a fixed position. A geared motor ( 17, 17′ ) is provided in said housing for each of the two swiveling directions ( 11 ), which are orthogonal in relation to each other. Said geared motors are kinematically connected to two threaded rods ( 24—24 ) by a toothed wheel ( 19, 19′ ) and by threaded bushings ( 24—24 ) which are also toothed on the outside. Said threaded rods ( 18—18 ) are diametrically opposite each other in relation to the coaxial axes of rotation of the wheels ( 19, 19 ′) and can be moved in opposite directions to each other.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC (See37 CFR 1.52(e)(5) and MPEP 608.05. Computer program listings (37 CFR1.96(c)), “Sequence Listings” (37 CFR 1.821(c)), and tables having morethan 50 pages of text are permitted to be submitted on compact discs.)or REFERENCE TO A “MICROFICHE APPENDIX” (See MPEP §608.05(a).“Microfiche Appendices” were accepted by the Office until Mar. 1, 2001.)

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

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(1) Field of the Invention

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The present invention relates to a motorized swiveling device accordingto the preamble of the main claim.

A swiveling device of this species is known from European PatentApplication 0 316 055 A1 in the form of a housing to receive onereversible small electric motor each for the coordinated drive of eachof two tappet-like linear actuators, onto whose front ends a mirrorsupport plate is linked and which may be extended out of the housingand/or withdrawn therein opposite to one another. In this way, they tiltthe support plate around an axis centrally transverse to the connectionline between the two linear actuators. The transmission of movement fromthe motor to the threaded rod assigned thereto is performed in each caseusing a pinion on the motor shaft, which rotates a threaded bushing,axially fixed on housing, via external teeth and thus linearly displacesthe threaded rod, whose external thread is engaged with the internalthread of the bushing.

(1) Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37CFR 1.97 and 1.98.

The requirement of having to simultaneously use two motorized drivesacting oppositely coordinated for this simple pivot movement of a mirrorsupport plate around a pivot axis is, however, very costly. In addition,the operational reliability is impaired due to the danger of not exactlysynchronized operation; if the two linear actuators are not movedexactly opposite by their motors, then a reproducible swiveling movementof the support plate around a predetermined fixed geometric axis doesnot occur, but rather this pivot axis experiences a lateraldisplacement.

Moving a pendulum arm in pivoting movement via an eccentric linkage toconvert a rotational movement into a rapid and high-capacityoscillation, for example, for driving reciprocating saws, pump plungers,or hay balers has been known per se from U.S. Pat. No. 1,147,896 for along time. Ideas for a reproducible, mechanically stable adjustment ofthe slant of a mirror using an electric motor have obviously not beenderived in the professional world from this old publication.

Providing a rotating disk cam having crown gear teeth and a motor shaftpinion, which engages therein with radial orientation to the cam, for adriven, periodical sequential control of multiple valves for watermanagement in a household washing machine has also been known for longtime, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,809. The cam is equipped with twoconcentric peripheral stepped grooves having internal teeth, in whichthe actuating shafts of the stationary valves engage, which are equippedwith gear wheels of different diameters and therefore correspondinglyengage to different depths in the grooves, in order to be opened andclosed again periodically but at different speeds as a function thereofduring rotation of the disk cam. However, automobile mirrors may not beadjusted using such rotational sequences of valve shafts.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In consideration of the shortcoming described above, the presentinvention is based on the technical object of designing a swivelingdevice according to the species so it is more functionally robust and,nonetheless, more cost-effective due to lower outlay for individualparts.

This object is achieved according to the present invention in that,according to the features essentially indicated in the main claim, forthe motorized pivot movement, the two threaded rods assigned to a pivotaxis are driven by a rotational link both to one another and to a sharedmotor. For this purpose, there is a gear, which is positively linked viaits teeth to each of the two threaded bushings for the threaded rods todrive them, lying approximately parallel to the mirror plate in the flathousing, which both threaded rods, which are mounted so they rotatetogether, are moved into and/or out of in their longitudinal directions,transverse to the main plane of the housing. The bushings are rotatablymounted parallel to the rotational axis of the gear and diametricallyopposed to one another axially on the gear and fixed to the housing. Theelectric reversible servomotor shared by the two threaded rods of onepivot axis preferably has its axis in the plane of the gear and engages,for example, with a worm gear, with which the motor shaft is equipped,in external (radial or crown) teeth of the gear. These are preferablythe same teeth which mesh with the external teeth of both threadedbushings.

A similar pair of threaded rods, jointly driven by a further suchreversing motor via its gear and its bushings, may be positioned alignedparallel to the first described but transverse thereto. In case ofanother positively driven rotational link, its threaded bushingstherefore mesh with a separate gear wheel drivable by motor, which has asomewhat smaller diameter and is mounted on or under the first geardescribed, in order to be able to perform the pivot movement of theplate in an axis orthogonal to the first axis described as well—andtherefore, due to their superposition, in any arbitrary spatialdirection. With this supplementation, according to the presentinvention, in a pivot device operating without jamming, the supportplate of a truck external mirror adjustable using a motor is mounted inan articulated way on four threaded rods which may be moved differentdistances out of the housing, which are moved opposite to one another inpairs via a (gear)wheel by a reversible drive motor assigned to thegear.

For a more detailed explanation of the present invention and itsalterations and refinements, reference is made to the sub-claims and tothe following description of a preferred exemplary embodiment of theachievement of the object according to the present invention, which isillustrated in the drawing approximately to scale but abstracted to theelements essential for its function.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 shows, in a partial axial longitudinal section through a threadedrod, a housing, to be mounted fixed on object, having the swivelingdevice according to the present invention for swiveling a carrier platein all spatial directions and

FIG. 2 shows the arrangement from FIG. 1 with the housing removed in arear horizontal projection.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The arrangement of swiveling device 11 according to the presentinvention, which is driven by motor, for a support plate 12 to receive,for example, a automobile rear view mirror adjustable by motor, islocated inside a flat housing 13, which is to be mounted fixed. Anelectric reversible low-voltage drive motor 17, 17′ is positionedtherein for each of two orthogonal pivot movement possibilities (pivotaxes 14, 14′) of plate 12. The motor is mechanically linked via anoutside pinion 16, 16′, for example, on its motor shaft 15, 15′ (FIG.2), and a gear 19, 19′, which is concentrically rotatable at theintersection of the pivot axes 14/14′ and lies flat in the housing, andvia rotatably mounted threaded bushings 24, to a pair of threaded rods18—18, 18′—18′, which are mounted so they are rotationally fixed but aremovable lengthwise, preferably for positive driving via teeth and/orthreads. Therefore, threaded rods 18, 18′ may be displaced—guidedparallel to one another in their bushings 24—along a directionapproximately orthogonal to the main plane of housing 13 and plate 12,namely into housing 13 on one side and simultaneously to the same degreeout of the housing on the diametrically opposite side, and vice versa,depending on the rotational direction of motor 17, 17′ and gear 19, 19′.

Free front end 27 of end piece 25, 25′ of threaded rod 18, 18′, whichprojects out of housing 13 in the direction toward plate back 20, isconnected to plate 12 in an articulated way after bridging a freedistance between housing 13 and plate back 20. Plate 12 is thusadjustably mounted in front of housing 13, using four threaded rods 18,18′, which project to different distances out of housing 13, mayalternately have compressive and tensile forces applied to them, and areresistant to buckling, so the plate is adjustable in practically anydesired spatial direction. As shown in FIG. 1, in this case connectionregion 28 of a threaded rod 18, 18′ is preferably inside plate 12, forexample, implemented as a ball joint loaded transverse to the overlap ina hollow 29, which projects as a pocket hole into the back of plate 12or, as shown, as a through hole which traverses the entire plate. Such alinkage for movement transmission may be implemented using plasticinjection molded parts without problems, cost-effectively, andfunctionally reliably, even when subject to vibration stress.

A threaded bushing 24, 24′ (cf. also FIG. 2), which is mounted axiallyfixed to the housing but rotatably, for coaxially receiving each ofthreaded rods 18, 18′, is used as a lengthwise guide fixed to thehousing for non-rotatably mounted threaded rods 18, 18′ andsimultaneously as a gear element between the rods and (gear)wheel 19,19′. The external teeth of gear 19, 19′, which are radial teeth, meshwith external teeth of each of its two bushings 24—24, 24′—24′, andtheir inner threads each mesh with the external threads of assigned rods18—18, 18′—18′.

If one of the two motors 17, 17′ now rotates its (gear)wheel 19, 19′,one of threaded rods 18, 18; 18′, 18′ is simultaneously moved out ofhousing 13 and the diametrically opposing rod of the pair is moved in bythe same amount via threaded bushings 24—24, 24′—24′, through whichplate 12 is pivoted geometrically exactly and mechanically stably aroundaxis 14 and/or 14′.

Since threaded rods 18, 18′ are, as illustrated, linked to the back ofplate 12 in pairs, diametrically opposite one another in relation to theintersection of both pivot axes 14/14′ and with opposing introduction offorce, this results in a vibration-resistant symmetric suspension ofplate 12 on supporting housing 13 and trouble-free adjustmentprocedures, because, using the pivot movement (indicated in FIG. 1 foraxis 14 by the curved double arrow in front of mirror support plate 12),a tensile load and, simultaneously, a diametrically opposed compressiveor transverse load is always performed against mirror support plate 12at a plate connection 28.

What is claimed is:
 1. An automobile mirror swiveling device (11)comprising: a mirror support plate (12), which is pivotable around twoorthogonal pivot axes (14, 14′) in relation to a housing (13) fixed onan object, the plate being supported by two threaded rods (18—18,18′—18′) per pivot axis (14, 14′), which in turn each extend through athreaded bushing (24, 24′) having an additional external thread, thesethreaded bushings (24, 24′) being rotatably mounted on the housing (13)and rotationally linked to one another in such a way, that each of thepair of threaded rods (18—18, 18′—18′) of a pivot axis (14, 14′),through rotation of its pair of threaded bushings (24—24, 24′—24′), moveone threaded rod (18, 18′) different distances into the housing (13) andsimultaneously move the other threaded rod (18, 18′) out of the housing(13) on the opposite side and in this way pivot the mirror support plate(12) around one of the two pivot axes (14, 14′), one motor (17, 17′),having a pinion (16, 16′) and a gear (19, 19′), rotatable by this pinion(16, 16′), being provided per pivot axis (14, 14′) for this purpose, thegear being provided with external teeth, which engage with both thepinion (16, 16′) of the motor (17, 17′) and with the external threads onthe two threaded bushings (24, 24′) for this pivot axis (14, 14′). 2.The swiveling device according to claim 1, wherein each of the twomotors (17, 17′) is oriented parallel to the main plane of one of thetwo gears (19, 19′) assigned to it and is equipped with a worm gear (16,16′), which meshes with the external teeth of the assigned gear of thetwo gears (19, 19′), and which is also engaged with the two threadedbushings (24, 24′) assigned to this gear (19, 19′), which are offset inrelation to the pinion (16, 16′) around the circumference of therespective gear (19, 19′).
 3. The swiveling device according to claim 1,two gears (19, 19′), which lie coaxially on one another, are provided,on each of which one of two pairs of bushings (24—24, 24′—24′), whichare aligned orthogonally to one another, are engaged with their teethfor axial displacement of their threaded rods (18—18, 18′—18′).